


Bridge Over Troubled Waters

by severaance



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: But he's trying, Domestic, Fluff, M/M, Spencer kinda sucks at this, my babies raising their very own baby
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-24
Updated: 2016-10-24
Packaged: 2018-08-24 12:04:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8371654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/severaance/pseuds/severaance
Summary: Spencer wondered what was so wrong with him that his son just refused to bond with him.





	

**Author's Note:**

> just a lil one-shot i had in my writing folder :~) enjoy!  
> title is a simon and garfunkel song because i suck at being original

“Daddy? Can you say daddy?” Spencer tried for what felt like the millionth time that morning. Still, his son only stared back at him with a bored look on his face before turning to Derek with a wide grin.

“Poppa!” Little Aubrey exclaimed with grabby hands to Derek. Derek smiled back at his son, but his face fell when he saw Spencer’s crestfallen look.

“Good job, Bre. Now say daddy.” Derek tried to coax, but Aubrey just stared at him and repeated, “Pop?”

At Spencer’s frustrated groan, Derek frowned and placed a gentle hand on his husband's shoulder.

“He hates me.” Spencer grumbled, to which Derek only shook his head.

“No he doesn't, Spence. Maybe it's just hard for him to say.” Derek offered, but Spencer just scoffed and shook his head.

“It's the same amount of syllables as 'poppa'!” He defended indignantly. He paused for a moment, then added in a quiet, sad voice, “He's not bonding with me. He likes you better.”

“Baby, no.” Derek tried to console, his hand rubbing circles on Spencer’s back. With a sigh, Spencer leaned into the touch and placed his head on Derek’s shoulder, nuzzling his neck. Aubrey watched his fathers interact curiously, head cocked to the side with his mouth hanging open slightly.

“See? He's even got your mannerisms. He's mimicking your thinkin’ face.” Derek teased lightly, earning a sad chuckle from Spencer. He himself had that same thinking face on, though, as he wracked his brain for some kind of answer as to why Aubrey seemed to treat him with such indifference.

“Do you think it's because you're black?” Spencer asked idly.

Derek pulled back to look at him, eyes narrowed as he said, “Excuse me?”

“No, no, I mean-” Spencer began frantically, “It's just that, you know, statistically, l mean, non-white children adopted into transracial homes have difficulty bonding with their white parents. And it's just, like, children don't understand the concept of race really, but they cling to what's familiar so-”

“Spencer.” Derek said, holding his hand up. Spencer hummed in response, looking hopefully at his husband who just shook his head and said, “Stop talking.”

Spencer huffed and looked down at his feet, shifting uncomfortably. Derek snorted at that, but still pulled Spencer closer to his side.

“It's all in your head, baby. You'll see this weekend. Once he gets some real time alone with you, you won't be saying any of this.” He punctuated with a kiss to Spencer’s head, adding, “I promise.”

 

Turns out, Derek Morgan sucks at keeping promises.

The moment he gave a goodbye kiss to Aubrey, the infant started screaming. And screaming. And screaming, and screaming, and five hours later, he was still screaming. Spencer had a pounding migraine, but of course Aubrey didn't care. He continued to cry unyieldingly, choking out between sobs, “Pop! Poppa!”

“Please.” Spencer practically whimpered as Aubrey wailed and wiggled out of his arms. He ran towards the front door, trying desperately to reach the doorknob.

“Bre, no, come back here.” Spencer pleaded feebly, but Aubrey just looked at him with narrowed eyes.

“No! Pop!” He shouted, stomping his feet angrily. Spencer groaned in frustration, feeling tears well up in his eyes.

“That's it. Come here.” He tried to say sternly, surging forward to grab Aubrey. As he hiked him up onto his hip, Aubrey began to claw at Spencer shoulders, kicking his feet aggressively.

“Down, down!” He demanded, but Spencer tried his best to ignore him. He carried him all the way up to the stairs into the nursery, where he placed Aubrey in his crib, pulling up the railing to keep him from climbing over.

“Out!” Aubrey begged, even as Spencer left the room, closing the door behind him. Once outside, he slid down the wooden door with a low whimper as he buried his face in his hands. He had to furiously rub at his eyes to keep himself from crying in frustration. Even after having Aubrey for most of the boy’s life, he still hadn’t become attached to Spencer the way he was to Derek. He rarely let Spencer hold him, and, of course, cried and pleaded for Derek every time he even left the room. Spencer wondered what was so wrong with him that his son, even not through blood, just refused to bond with him.

* * *

By the time 2:00 AM Sunday morning rolled around, Aubrey had screamed himself hoarse, but tears still ran down his beet red face. Spencer had just about had it, beyond his breaking point as his head continued to throb with excruciating pain. He snatched his phone up and went into his contacts, ready to call Derek. But something inside him had him pausing and hovering his finger over Derek’s number. With a sigh, he decided to scroll past it to JJ’s number, and pressed call without a second thought.

After five rings, a groggy JJ answered, “Spence?”

“He won't stop.” Spencer whined, watery eyes floating over to Aubrey.

“Wha’?” JJ asked, causing Spencer to groan.

“Aubrey. He hasn't stopped screaming since Friday.” Spencer clarified. He could hear JJ sigh on the other line, no doubt shaking her head and pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration. Lord knows she'd had to put up with late night calls from the new parents - SpongeBob and Patrick, she called them.

“Well, did you feed him?” JJ asked, to which Spencer scoffed.

“Of course. And changed him. And sang to him. And checked to see if he had a rash or ear infection. And gave him something to chew on in case he's teething.” Spencer explained.

“What's wrong, then?” JJ asked.

Spencer threw his hands up in exasperation and yelled, “I don't know! You talk to him, for Christ’s sake!”

He angrily placed the phone in Aubrey’s crib, watching him eye it up curiously. It took Spencer a few minutes before he realized what the fuck he just did. Sleep deprivation was a helluva drug. He scrambled to pick up the phone just in time to here JJ whisper, “What the fuck?”

“That was not- I’m sorry. I haven't slept since Thursday.” Spencer said weakly, rubbing at his bleary, tearful eyes. Solemnly, he admitted, “I’m not fit to be a dad, Jay. Derek is so much better at this than me.”

With a sigh, JJ replied, “No, hon, you're doing fine. These things happen. Henry wouldn't even let Will near him before he was sixteen months, and now he's the world's biggest daddy’s boy. I promise, it's not you.”

Spencer chewed on his lip and stared into the crib, watching as sob after sob wracked Aubrey’s tiny body. Spencer sighed and then whispered, “Thanks, JJ.”

“Mm. Any time.” JJ replied, then added, “Oh, and Spence?”

Spencer’s head perked up at that and he asked hopefully, “Yeah?”  

“Next time you interrupt my husband eating my pussy there's gonna be hell to pay.” JJ promptly hung up after exchanging the stern words with Spencer, who blushed profusely and tried to apologize to no avail. He placed the phone back into his pocket and, with another sigh, glanced back at Aubrey, who slowly but surely began to tire himself out.

“That's it, little guy. Go to sleep.” Spencer said softly, watching his son from the doorway now. He looked down at his feet and added hopefully in a small voice, “I love you, Bre. Daddy loves you.”

Sunday night could not have come fast enough after Spencer’s grueling weekend. Aubrey had refused to eat or even go down for a nap the entire day upon hearing Spencer try to encourage, “Poppa will be home soon.” And of course, every time Spencer tried to hold him, Aubrey would either run away screaming or lay down face first on the floor in silent protest. 20 months old and already an activist.

When Spencer and Aubrey finally heard keys jangling as the front door swung open, they both gave heavy sighs of relief.

“How are my two favorite boys?” Derek said cheerily, coming over to Spencer to give him a kiss. Spencer weakly returned it, then rested his head on Derek’s chest with a heavy sigh. Derek looked down at him curiously but still gave him a tight squeeze with another kiss to Spencer’s temple. He then released him and turned to Aubrey, who was blankly staring at him. The bored look on the infant’s face surely confused Spencer, who had grown wise to his tricks.

“And there's my little man.” Derek said eagerly, reaching out for Aubrey. His son less than enthusiastically let him pick him up, stiff as a board in his arms.

He took one look at Derek before turning in his arms to reach for Spencer. Spencer stared at him in shock, and his eyes grew wide when Aubrey cracked a smile and said, “Dad-dee.”

Spencer stood deathly still as he continued to stare at Aubrey, who only kept wiggling in Derek’s arms to try to get to him.

“Daddy!” He repeated, now growing indignant. Derek himself looked down at his son in shock, but slowly a grin spread across his face, and soon he was handing a very eager Aubrey over to Spencer.

“Hm. Daddy.” Aubrey hummed happily with a nod of approval, burying his face in Spencer’s neck. Herelaxed instantly, arms wrapped around his father’s neck as he made content, happy coos.

“Well, would you look at that.” Derek said smugly, a smirk prominent on his face. Happy tears had begun to well up in Spencer’s eyes once again, and they threatened to spill when he felt Aubrey clutch his shirt in his tiny fist.

“I think an ‘I told you so’ is in order.” Derek told Spencer while wrapping him up in his arms.

Spencer looked to him and, with a smile, said, “Yeah. Yeah, I guess it is.”

**Author's Note:**

> "If you've never been hated by your child, you've never been a parent." -Bette Davis


End file.
